Lesson 2 - Our Second Day

🕐 Lesson Overview

Bellringer - OYD
Prepare materials
Sign out procedures
Class Norms

⭐ Objectives

I can maintain neat, organized materials.
I can be prepared for class.
I can set and follow classroom norms and expectations.

📏 Standards

🗽 NYSNGSS

7SL1b:
Follow norms for collegial discussions, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

💖 SEL

2C.3b:
Demonstrate cooperation and teamwork to promote group well-being and collective efficacy.
3A.3b:
Analyze the sources and effects of school and societal rules, including those that cause or perpetuate injustice, and their impact on individuals and groups.

🗒️ Lesson Plan

Anticipatory Set

The teacher will display and read the following bellringer prompt on the board:

On your desk, please have out a notebook and a folder that are just for English class.

If you don't have a notebook or a folder, that's OK! Bring them in next class. If for any reason you can't get these supplies, let me know. I'll take care of it, no questions asked.

The teacher will take attendance as students prepare their workspace (a notebook, a folder, and a pencil). The teacher will circulate and check in with students who do not have the required materials, providing them from the classroom supply as needed. The class will then review the agenda and objectives.

Developmental Activity

The teacher will have students first label their journals with their first name, last initial, and class period. The teacher will explain that these journals are left in the classroom and used for notes and bellringers. The teacher will then collect these journals in the appropriate bin for the class period. Depending on the layout of the classroom, I either have students all pass in one direction (if desks are in rows) or have one student neatly stack all journals from their table group.

Students will then label their folders with their first and last names and the name of the class (English or ELA). On the inside of the folder, students will label the the lefthand pocket as To Do and the righthand pocket as Done.

The teacher will explain that much of the work we do will be on paper. The teacher will inform students that studies show that reading comprehension is improved when using paper materials and that handwriting likewise has benefits for memory, retention, and deeper learning. Devices will be used for some assignments, especially longer-form writing, but that our challenge in every situation is to determine the best tool for the task. Sometimes devices are the best tool and sometimes they are not. It's about achieving a balance!

The teacher will review the items that students should bring to English class every day:

A pencil for writing (I provide pencils in the classroom for any student who needs them, but these should only be used if students forgot their own)

Your English folder

Your planner

A charged Chromebook

An open mind

The teacher will then begin to review sign out procedures, starting by discussing when it is and is not appropriate to leave a classroom.

Good Times & Reasons to Sign Out	Bad Times & Reasons to Sign Out
We're working independently on an assignment. You have finished your work and have time to spare. You are experiencing a bathroom or medical emergency. You're getting frustrated and need to be in a different space.	Class has started or is about to start. You have lunch or study hall next period (or the period beforehand). The teacher is instructing. We're reading a new chapter of a book. You want to get your Social Studies textbook out of your locker for next period.

The teacher will expand on each item, providing the "why" behind them.

The teacher will then explicitly review procedures for signing out of class.

You don't have to ask to leave. No need to disrupt the class.

Stand up and take the least disruptive route to the sign out table.

Fill out the Sign Out Sheet and take a pass with you.

When you return, after having washed your hands, sign back in and return the pass to the hook on the wall.

Take the least disruptive route back to your seat. The one exception to this is if you are about to throw up. Just go (if you feel well enough to walk to the nurse).

The teacher will explain that students are old enough to regulate their own bathroom habits, but the right to sign out (and sign out without asking) is a privilege that can and will be revoked if abused. The classroom has one pass available and it is good for one period. If there is not a pass (i.e. another student is out), students must wait to sign out. Sign outs should be rare; students' first priority is being in class. If students are signing out on an every day basis, or leaving for excessive amounts of time, they will lose their privileges. The teacher will model how to complete the sign out sheet.

Closure

The teacher will share their non-negotiable expectation: be kind and respectful. The teacher will explain the rationale behind this expectation:

We are creatures of the culture we create. If we put negativity out into the world, that's what our lives are filled with. That's not a place that people are excited to come to every day.
We all want to be treated with respect and dignity, so we have to treat others that way.
It is paramount that we all feel safe, welcomed, and respected. This is non-negotiable, meaning, there is no gray area.

The teacher will review ways to be kind and respectful when working in groups.

Include everyone.

Give everyone a chance to be heard.

Listen when someone else is speaking.

Respond with respect, even if you disagree.

Stay focused on the task.

Stop speaking when the teacher calls your attention up front.

The teacher will then have students form groups of three or less. Each group will nominate a group writer (someone who can write quickly and clearly). As a group, students will imagine that they are designing rules for their ideal classroom. The teacher will give the group writers the Class Norms sheet and provide them with two minutes to complete the front side as a group. After the two minutes have elapsed, groups will put a star next to one "non-negotiable" in each column. The class will repeat the process for the back of the sheet.

The teacher will ensure that students have written their names on the sheets then collect them. The teacher will explain that they are going to compile the lists into a shared agreement that the whole class will sign off on next week.

🧠 Rationale

Students leave their journals in the classroom to give them one less item to carry around and to avoid "but I forgot mine at home!" I check these journals periodically to informally assess students and, occasionally, for participation grades. I will often leave stickers and comments for students within them!

I struggle with the decision to allow students to leave class at their discretion. I believe that students need to develop independent self-regulation habits, but I am also aware that many students lack them. I have years where sign outs are controlled and minimal and years where I feel my classroom becomes a revolving door. I find it best to deal with the problems on a case-by-case basis because most students can handle the responsibility. I find that middle schoolers want to be treated as adults and should be given the opportunity to learn how to be them! I use myself as an example: I rarely leave class to use the bathroom because I'm an adult who can regulate their habits. I know when my free periods are and use the bathroom then. If I have an emergency, I pull a neighboring teacher to watch my class at a convenient time (e.g. when kids are working independently), but this happens once in a blue moon and with minimal disruption to learning.

These procedures and routines may look different in your classroom and in your building; what's important is that the routines are clearly stated and reinforced often.